Sweet Sixteen
by Lunamaris321
Summary: Alanna's POV on Daine's sixteenth birthday. Alanna, Daine, and Numair reflect on their lives in Tortall and what it means to them. Slight DN undertones, but no fluff since Daine and Numair haven't gone to the Divine Realms yet.


A/N: This story is set in March after Carthak, after the prologue of RotG but before the first chapter, so Midwinter (and the barrier's collapse) has past. It's my first fanfic, so please review. Anything's welcome. I need to learn what works and what doesn't, so please tell me even if you hate it. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I even borrowed a few of the lines, or variations of them, from other people on just because I loved them and they fit. Sorry – please don't kill me.

**Sweet Sixteen**

"Daine?" The woman's voice came softly through the trees, but it caught the younger girl's attention immediately. Measuring only five feet, five inches in height, she was a slim girl with blue-gray eyes. Soft brown curls tumbled around her shoulders. They were slightly tousled, as though she'd tossed and turned on them.

"Oh, hi, Numair, Alanna," Daine addressed the two figures approaching from the forest without moving from where she stood, knee-deep in the cold ocean water.

"What're you doing up?" Alanna asked blearily. The redheaded knight was a full two inches shorter than Daine, and they were both in sharp contrast to the dark-complected mage Numair, who stood a full six feet, six inches. He too looked sleep-tousled.

"I could ask you the same thing," Daine retorted.

"No, you couldn't," replied Alanna. "I'm only up because Numair here" – she elbowed the man in the ribs – "woke up, found you gone, and got worried. He woke me, and we've been looking for you for fifteen minutes."

"I'm sorry! I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to wake you. I didn't know that you'd worry."

Numair's light tenor came through for the first time. "You were kidnapped less than a year ago, magelet, and there are still people out there who want us dead. I've done a good amount of worrying over you recently, believe me. Besides, it _is_ nature for a man to worry when he wakes up after midnight to find one of his companions missing."

"How'd you know I was missing, anyway? We each have our own tent. And you can't have heard me leave or you would've caught me before I made it here," Daine inquired.

Alanna's sharp eyes flickered from Daine to Numair, who, for some reason, was blushing. Daine had a good point, she thought musingly. Numair would've had to go into Daine's tent to check on her. A thought crossed her mind momentarily, but she pushed it aside. As Numair had said, Daine _had_ been kidnapped. And the girl was his student. Of course he was worried about her. Realizing that Numair probably didn't want to explain all that, Alanna quickly changed the subject. "Happy birthday, Daine!" The knight went down to the water's edge and smiled at her young friend.

Daine, looking startled, made her way out of the water. "That's right, Numair said it was past midnight. I'm sixteen now. That's fair odd,"

"Indeed it is," murmured Numair, who had come down to stand on Daine's other side. "In another month I'll have known you for three years. We've had a lot of adventures, the three of us," he added, indicating Alanna as well. "Pirate's Swoop, Dunlath, Carthak – not to mention all the little ones in between."

"It was mostly you two, though. If either of you hadn't been there, Tortall would've been lost any number of times. I wasn't there during the siege, or when you two discovered Yolane and Tristan and Belden's treason, or when Daine tore down the royal palace of Carthak," Alanna squeezed Daine's hand.

Daine blushed and looked down. "You, too, Lioness – you've saved Tortall more times than I can count. Without you neither of us would be here anyway, since Tortall would be in ruins from that earthquake of Roger's."

"I guess that our glorious country needs everything, then: its Champion, who happens to be the first woman knight in over a century; its Wildmage, the only one in the world; and its Blackrobe – "

" – who is one of only seven in the world," Daine interrupted Numair with a smile, "and is possibly the most powerful. Plus you're my teacher. If you hadn't left Carthak, I wouldn't be here either. Or if I were, I would be completely different. I would never have known I had magic."

Numair shuddered. "If I hadn't left Carthak, I'd be dead, magelet. Tortall's done as much for me – or more – than I've done for her."

"And me," Daine agreed. Numair slung an arm around her shoulders, and Alanna watched as the girl leaned into his embrace. The same thought that had crossed Alanna's mind came again, but once more she pushed it aside. The war against Carthak, though unofficial, and the ongoing battles against the Immortals had made everyone closer to their friends and family. Although Numair was a grown man, Daine was only sixteen years of age. She still needed a family, but hers was gone. And they'd been through so much together. It was only natural that the mage and his 'magelet' were close. Alanna herself was also close to the pair of them, as were Onua, Thayet, Buri, Jon, and others. Still, she had to wonder if Numair at least didn't…

Shaking her head, Alanna pulled herself out of her thoughts. The moon was rising over the water, casting light on the three of them. It was so beautiful, the knight reflected. No battles, no worrying, no fighting. Just the moon, the ocean, and friends. Peace. Almost perfect. Not quite – perfect would have included George, her husband.

Together Numair, Daine, and Alanna stood for a long while, not talking. Looking at her friends' faces Alanna couldn't tell what they were thinking, but she could tell that they felt the same peace. Wars, Immortals, and traveling could wait. Alanna could even wait to find out if Numair didn't perhaps feel more for Daine than a teacher should for his student. For now there was only moonlight, the ocean, friends, and peace.

Life wasn't perfect. But it was pretty darn close.

A/N: What do you think? I have more ideas for D/N fics, both before RotG and after, so I might try one if this goes well. Please review! Thanks again!


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